James Gunn's Justice League? New Details Emerge About His Final DC Universe Movie
by Rafael Motamayor · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is changing — again. James Gunn and Peter Safran are out at DC Studios, with Marvel Studios veteran Jeremy Latcham taking their place. It's pretty shocking news, considering Gunn and Safran have only been on the job four years. Moreover, it was only a few weeks ago that they indicated David Ellison was in favor of keeping them on following the butchering of Warner Bros. and Paramount to form his new mega-studio Skydance.
For the moment, it's unclear whether the DCU as it currently exists (itself merely the latest overhaul of DC's shared movie and television universe in the last decade or so) will be rebooted once again, much less what will happen with the DCU projects being actively developed. We know Gunn's "Man of Tomorrow" is set to come out next year (although it's not as though WB is known for being above shelving finished films!), yet projects like the recently announced "Poison Ivy" TV show are a whole other matter.
Now, blogger Jeff Sneider has reported that Gunn was writing a third "Superman" movie before his exit from DC Studios. However, the film has (per Sneider) "since morphed into a 'Justice League' movie (possibly a two-parter) that could introduce Batman, whom Gunn had originally hoped to introduce in 'The Brave and the Bold.'"
Gunn released a statement shortly after the news of his exit from DC Studios came out, explaining that he is ready to be a "pure" filmmaker again and no longer have to deal with the politics of being an executive. Regardless of whether that's entirely true or not, the fact that Gunn has been closely involved with every DC Studios project released or greenlit so far indicates that he has indeed been keeping rather busy running the DCU.
Is DC Studios about to repeat the mistakes of the DC Extended Universe?
If the report is accurate and James Gunn's final DC Studios project is now a "Justice League" movie, then that doesn't bode well. After all, the last time DC pivoted from a Superman sequel to suddenly introducing Batman and the rest of the League, it sent the DC Extended Universe careening off the rails.
And yet, given how much care Gunn has put into his DCU, it would make sense that he would want to bring in as many DC heavy hitters as he can before leaving. And assuming he actually stays on to write and direct this third and final DCU project of his, Gunn would also be able to establish the casting and tone of the DCU's Batman rather than entrusting that to Jeremy Latcham.
/Film's own Ryan Scott has speculated about why Skydance would want Gunn out of DC Studios, and one possible explanation that sticks out is just how slow Gunn and Peter Safran have been in bringing out the A-list DC characters. So far, the DCU has instead focused on showcasing the diversity of stories it can support, from the weird to the inspiring and the horrifying. After all, everyone already knows Batman exists in the DCU, but now they're aware it's home to Clayface and the Creature Commandos as well thanks to Gunn and Safran.
This approach has, in turn, allowed DC Studios to give filmmakers the time and care to ensure they don't rush their projects. Unfortunately, with the sheer amount of debt Skydance now has due to its absurd and unnecessary Warner Bros./Paramount merger, it's not shocking that it wants to rush into "Justice League" (despite knowing how badly that went last time).